Pumpkin spice latte, roasting turkey, butter-drenched stuffing! Holiday smells conjure memories. But for people experiencing side effects of Covid-19, a sense of smell can suddenly be non-existent, or even repulsive.

Dr. Danielle Reed of the Monell Chemical Senses Center describes how smell works, why it affects taste and what can go awry.

Then we meet Kim Minton and Cristen Scifo. They’ve been coping with loss or distortion of smell and taste for more than a year. Its effects can be frustrating, depressing and confounding. Cristen says:

“The cravings for food don’t go away. I crave Chinese food like once or twice a week. Can I have it? No absolutely not. Because I take one smell of it, and it’s repulsive. And that’s something I used to love.”

Links: Monell Chemical Senses Center, Anosmia recipes. AJ+ video describing loss of smell.

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472